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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about West Bradenton (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for West Bradenton. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for West Bradenton ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Bradenton: W. Bradenton

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

West Bradenton is located in Manatee County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Manatee County: DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Polk & Sarasota.

Below are the counties that are near West Bradenton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Bradenton:

  • Manatee County     (The home county of West Bradenton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bradenton, with the one closest to West Bradenton listed first.
    • Palma Sola
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Bradenton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Palmetto
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Memphis
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Memphis is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
    • South Bradenton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • South Bradenton is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradenton
    • Samoset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
    • West Samoset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • West Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
    • Cortez
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellenton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Bayshore Gardens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
    • Bradenton Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Holmes Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bradenton, with the one closest to West Bradenton listed first.
    • Fort Dade ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Fort Dade is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Dade
    • Sun City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gulf City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
    • Manatee Harbor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
    • Bayou Pass Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
    • Park Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
    • Ruskin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Montero Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
    • Cypress Creek Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
    • Freedom Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
    • Golf and Sea Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Golf and Sea Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golf and Sea Village
    • Sun City Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bradenton, with the one closest to West Bradenton listed first.
    • Tierra Verde
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Pete Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Gulfport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Saint Petersburg Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Petersburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • South Pasadena
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • South Pasadena is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pasadena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,067 people
    • Treasure Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Kenneth City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lealman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Lealman is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lealman
    • Madeira Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinellas Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Bay Pines
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Sarasota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bradenton, with the one closest to West Bradenton listed first.
    • North Sarasota
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • North Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sarasota
    • Desoto Lakes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
    • Kensington Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
    • Sarasota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • The Meadows
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
    • Pinecraft
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Southgate
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Southgate is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate
    • South Sarasota
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • South Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sarasota
    • Fruitville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Sarasota Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
    • Siesta Key
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ridge Wood Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Wood Heights

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Bradenton, see our County-by-County Page for West Bradenton.

Cemeteries Near West Bradenton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Bradenton.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for West Bradenton - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Bradenton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Bradenton, with the one closest to West Bradenton listed first.

  • Fogartyville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Adams & Rogers Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams & Rogers Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Adams & Rogers Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Bradenton.
    • The Adams & Rogers Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Adams Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1989096 <2>
  • Skyway Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Palma Sola Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Major Adams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Manatee Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mansion Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Skyway Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Braden River Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Galilee Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Fortner Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (24 more) ...

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

While we didn't find West Bradenton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Bradenton.

These communities are listed based on their distance from West Bradenton, with the one closest to West Bradenton listed first.

  • Palma Sola
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Bradenton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Palmetto
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Manatee
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Manatee is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
  • Ellenton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Terra Ceia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Erie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Erie is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
  • Rye
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Rye is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
  • Gulf City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
  • Port Tampa
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Bradenton. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Bradenton.

Newspapers Published in West Bradenton ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Bradenton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Bradenton, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Bradenton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to West Bradenton:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Bradenton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about West Bradenton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.